Shaved Asparagus Salad with Nut “Parmesan”

Do you ever great bored when you try to “eat healthy”? You feel limited as your repertoire of health supportive (and tasty) meals is a short list and you end up preparing the same dishes time and time again. A simple fix is to try cooking your favorite foods in a different way. If you always roast a veggie try sautéing it or eating it raw instead. If you always use one kind of bean, mix it up by trying a different variety or prepare the bean from scratch. Changing up your diet will excite your taste buds, and give you a chance to broaden your overall diet.

With Spring officially here, I’m craving lighter meals as a means to do a little “Spring Cleaning” of my own diet. I love grilling and roasting asparagus, but instead I opted to make a raw salad with the seasonal produce. Asparagus is high in Vitamin K, A, Folate, Iron, as well as an excellent source of fiber. This salad comes together in a flash and is so simple to make. If you know how to peel a carrot, you can make this salad. I love it on its own, but have also served it over romaine with cucumber slices and my Caesar Dressing. The faux-parmesan is also a great have on hand anytime your pasta, pizza, or salad needs a little salty, cheesy bite.

Holding the tough end of an asparagus stalk, use a vegetable peeler to “shave” the asparagus from end to tip. Repeat until all asparagus are ‘shaved’ and discard tough ends. {Ripe Tip: See pictures}

Toss the asparagus in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. {Ripe Tip: You can serve this salad immediately or chill 10 – 15 to allow the dressing to marinate and soften the asparagus.} Garnish with Nut “Parmesan” and fresh basil.

Shaving the asparagus

the carnage: the tough ends and excess pieces from shaving the asparagus down